


Under the Weather

by AceTrainerHope



Series: Borrowed Fate [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, The Borrowers - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Borrowers Fusion, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, G/T, Gen, Modern-ish, borrower!Hoshidans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-06 21:52:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18859831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceTrainerHope/pseuds/AceTrainerHope
Summary: When one of the house's human residents falls ill, Sakura takes it upon herself to help in any way that she can.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there everyone! If you haven't read the first two installments in this series, I would highly recommend going back and doing so! Otherwise, I hope you all enjoy~

Most people woke up to the sound of a beeping alarm clock, or to sunlight streaming through their windows. 

For Sakura and her siblings, those weren’t really luxuries they could afford. 

But they always made do.

Their own internal clocks were the only thing they needed, really. 

Almost without fail, Sakura was usually awake at the same time each morning, just a little after sunrise. It would take her a few minutes to stretch and get out of bed, but once she was, she went straight to work. 

In hindsight, her own morning routine wasn’t really all that different from a human’s, barring a few minor details. She changed out of her nightgown, combed her fingers through her hair, and then made her bed. 

Well… ‘bed’ was a pretty loose term. 

With no frame, the handmade mattress sat directly on the floor, and it was flimsy enough that it could be rolled up for easy storage. Which was convenient, given the relatively small space she had to work with. 

Her bedroom was almost exclusively used for just sleeping, though, so it wasn’t like she needed that much space anyway. Aside from the bed, the only other things in Sakura’s room were the two woven baskets she kept her clothes in, and her small collection of cloth dolls that she’d made herself. 

Once her bed was in order, Sakura then made her way down the hall, past each of her siblings’ rooms, and out into the kitchen. The faint smell of spices and sugar hung in the air.

That was… rather unexpected. 

It meant that someone had already made breakfast, but that was normally Sakura’s job.

Her brothers were both seated at the kitchen table, which was really nothing more than a carved block of wood. They greeted her as she came into view. 

“Hey, Sakura,” Takumi stated casually.  

“Good morning,” Ryoma added.

It was common for the boys to get up a few hours earlier than her, to go out borrowing long before any of the humans were awake.

“G-Good morning,” Sakura greeted back, stifling a yawn. “You’re both back early. D-Did something happen?” 

“Nothing serious,” Ryoma assured her. “We can talk about it more once Hinoka comes out.”

“O-Oh. Okay...”  

“Breakfast’s ready, if you want some,” Takumi offered, holding out an empty bowl for her. A larger pot sat in the center of the table with steam rising up from it; the source of that sweet aroma. “Ryoma and I figured you deserve a break.” 

Sakura accepted the bowl with a gracious nod, sitting down and taking her place next to Takumi. She then reached for the ladle that was resting against the pot, scooping out her own portion of food; it was a sort of porridge-like meal, made with grains and different herbs. 

While it was hard to get much variety in a dish like that, Sakura always tried to mix things up by using new combinations of herbs each time. Sometimes she added berries from out in the garden, or even chocolate if they were ever fortunate enough to borrow some. That was a pretty rare treat, though. 

“It might not be as good as yours, but it’s at least edible, right?” Ryoma asked. He was kidding, of course. Mostly. 

“N-No, you did a good job!” Sakura insisted sincerely after trying a spoonful. She sputtered a bit, and almost choked trying to get the words out too soon after swallowing. 

“You don’t have to lie to make us feel better,” Takumi joked, nudging her playfully with his elbow before digging into his own bowl. 

Instead of objecting or coming up with a retort, Sakura just smiled and continued eating. Even if it was just lighthearted banter between siblings, she knew better than to argue with Takumi.

It wasn’t long after that when Hinoka emerged from her bedroom, stretching and yawning as she entered the kitchen. Her hair was unkempt and rather disheveled, but given how short it was, that was a look that Hinoka pulled off pretty well. 

Each of the four siblings had their own little style preferences when it came to that. 

Though Sakura’s was close in length to Hinoka’s, the younger sister kept hers nice and neat. 

Takumi and Ryoma were a similar case. Both boys almost always had their long hair tied back in ponytails, but where Ryoma’s was pretty wild and unruly, Takumi’s was silky and smooth. 

With all of that in mind, Hinoka definitely preferred keeping her hair the shortest and easiest to manage. Especially since she was usually the last one to get out of bed for the day.

“Hey guys,” She greeted the others. “What’s up?”

Funnily enough, she was also the most chipper first thing in the morning.

“Takumi and I had a… little interruption of sorts,” Ryoma began, taking on a somewhat more solemn tone than the one he’d had before. “The youngest human—Elise, right? It seems that she’s sick.” 

“And it totally messed up everyone else’s schedules,” Takumi grumbled. “We almost got spotted with all of them tromping around up there so much earlier than normal. So we had to cut the trip short,” he went on, clearly getting frustrated.

“You probably shouldn’t go out people-watching today, Sakura. Best to just wait and let this blow over,” Ryoma advised.

“Which will be soon, I hope. Ugh, I hate when they get unpredictable like this,” Takumi complained. 

“It can’t be helped,” Hinoka noted with a sigh before she sat down at the table. “Pass me a bowl, wouldja?”

With the three of them talking in near-rapid succession, Sakura didn’t really have the chance to respond to what Ryoma had told her. Not that she even knew what to say to him in the first place. 

She felt… conflicted. Really conflicted. 

Perhaps it  _ would _ be best if she didn’t visit Camilla today. Although, not for quite the same reason her oldest brother had given. She imagined Camilla would be too busy caring for Elise to spend time chatting with her.

But a part of her couldn’t stop a nagging worry that persisted in the back of her mind; something she couldn't shake off or ignore. Something that told her that maybe she  _ should _ go and check on Camilla… 

 

* * *

 

A few hours after breakfast, Sakura found the perfect opportunity to slip away unnoticed. 

She never actually felt like she  _ had  _ to sneak around whenever she did this sort of thing, but it certainly made things easier. Especially in this particular circumstance, when the others were more likely to ask questions. 

Speaking of the others… 

Ryoma was currently toiling away in the workroom, which made slipping past him hardly a challenge at all. The workroom was the second largest space in their house—the first being the kitchen. It was dedicated to crafting and repairing a wide variety of items, like furniture or weapons. 

Of course, ‘large’ was a pretty relative term when referring to two rooms that were both less than a square foot in area. 

Getting past Hinoka and Takumi was a bit more difficult, though not too much more. Right now the two of them were sparring in the training yard, which Sakura could avoid by exiting out the back door instead of the front. 

The house itself was a very modest and simple structure built within the crawlspace under the humans’ home. This gave the borrower family plenty of secure and covered space to work with. More than they needed, really. The crawlspace was almost entirely sealed off from the outside world, save for a few grates that nothing bigger than a field mouse could fit through. 

The only animals that they really had to worry about were snakes, but those could easily be repelled with the help of certain types of plants. Which Sakura and the others may or may not have encouraged the growth of all around the property. 

Not far from the borrowers’ home, a rope ladder hung down from the floorboards above, leading to a network of carefully constructed passageways and tunnels within the walls. 

As Sakura reached the ladder, she took one last glance over her shoulder, back to the house. She muttered a quiet prayer, hoping to return safely. 

And then she began her ascent. 

 

* * *

 

About twenty minutes of walking and climbing later, Sakura opened up the hidden panel that led out onto Camilla’s bookshelf. Staying out of sight at first, she waited for a moment and listened carefully. 

… 

… 

… 

Nothing. 

No voices. No footsteps. No breathing, save for her own. 

The room was empty. 

Sakura sighed as she stepped out into the open. This was what she had expected, and yet she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed, like she’d come all this way for nothing. 

On the bright side, at least now she knew for sure that Camilla wasn’t waiting up for her. But even with that small worry put to rest, the persistent nagging in the back of her mind still lingered. 

Well… if Camilla wasn’t in her own room, the next most likely place for her to be was Elise’s. Sakura could make her way over there, if she really wanted to, but that was almost another twenty-minute journey. It was doable, but Sakura wasn’t sure she wanted to be away from her siblings for that much longer.

Maybe she should just go back h—

The bedroom door swung open and Sakura immediately bolted back to her hiding place behind the books. 

A quick peek showed Camilla entering the room alone. Her gait was somewhat rushed, and she didn’t bother closing the door behind her. She practically made a beeline for the desk, rummaging through each drawer one at a time. 

Seeing the lavender-haired woman in such a near-frantic state, Sakura was reluctant to make her presence known. Partly because she thought it might be rude to interrupt, and partly because… 

Well, it was honestly pretty unsettling to see Camilla so visibly worried like that; normally the eldest sister was so calm and collected, even when expressing concern. 

It wasn’t hard to guess what had Camilla so worried, though. 

And with any luck, Sakura might be able to help.

… Somehow. 

After taking a glance toward the open doorway to make sure no one else was close by, Sakura emerged once more from her hiding spot. 

“C… C-Camilla?” She called over, hoping that her voice was loud enough to be heard.

Much to the young borrower’s surprise, Camilla actually flinched at the sound of her voice, turning quickly to look toward the door and then to the bookshelf. When her eyes met Sakura’s, it was like a switch had been flipped. In an instant, her air of calm returned. A practiced ruse, it seemed. 

“Ah, Sakura,” she stated with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, dear, now isn’t really the best time.”

“I-I know. I… I heard about Elise. Is she, um… Is she alright?” the borrower wondered.

Camilla blinked. “How…?” She murmured softly, but then she shook her head, as if deeming her own question unimportant. “She’s—Elise is… Well, it could be worse, I suppose. We’re not sure what’s wrong. She was fine yesterday, maybe a bit more tired than usual, but… it just came on so suddenly.”

With a weary sigh, she pulled out her desk chair and sat down. 

“There’s a doctor in town I know, I could’ve sworn I had her information in here somewhere, but I…” Camilla went on, more to herself than to Sakura as her gaze drifted back over toward the desk drawers. “Of course, even if we can find a doctor, there’s no telling how long it could take them to get here…”

“M-Maybe, I… um, m-might be able to help?” The pink-haired borrower offered, sounding more than a little uncertain as she wrung her hands nervously.

Camilla’s eyes widened as she looked back at Sakura. “Really?” 

The surprise in her tone was obvious.

Sakura nodded. “I-I’m not sure how much I can, um,  _ a-actually _ do, but… I’ve learned about h-healing and medicine since I was younger. F-For, um, a few years now,” she explained. Her already-pitiful levels of confidence shrunk even more the longer she rambled on. “Y-You’d probably want s-someone more experienced, though, r-right? I-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—”

“No, no, dear, you’re alright,” Camilla reassured her. “I just didn’t think… Well, I thought you didn’t want the others to know about you. Have you changed your mind?”

“N-No, not really. Um… I would st-still prefer if… if Leo and X-Xander didn’t have to know, but I… I-I want to help, if I can,” Sakura insisted. This was clearly causing Camilla a lot of stress, and whatever was wrong with Elise sounded quite serious. Sakura couldn’t just sit back and do nothing without at least  _ trying _ first. 

Even if it meant revealing herself to the other humans.

“It might be a bit difficult, but Xander  _ is  _ in his study right now, and Leo’s in his own room trying to find anything useful in all those books of his,” Camilla noted. “So this would be the best chance you’ve got if you don’t want the two of them to see you.”

“O-Okay, then. Let’s… Let’s go,” Sakura stated. She was still nervous, but a blossoming determination found its way into her words. 

There was an awkward pause as each of them waited for the other to make a move. And then Sakura realized that she hadn’t exactly made her intentions clear.

“S-Sorry, um. Y-You don’t have to, but it would be f-faster if you… th-that is, if I went w-with you,” she clarified. 

Another look of surprise lit up Camilla’s features. “You want me to carry you?”

Sakura nodded, albeit somewhat hesitantly.

“Alright, if you’re sure…” Camilla stated. She stood up and started reaching toward Sakura. 

The borrower braced herself, fully expecting Camilla to scoop her up like she’d done when they first met. However, the human simply rested her hand flat on the shelf, palm up, and waited for Sakura to climb on board.

Even though she was the one who had suggested this, now that she actually had to  _ voluntarily _ put herself in Camilla’s hand… she was starting to regret this decision. 

_ No, come on, Sakura. You can do this!  _ she thought, trying to psych herself up. She couldn’t get cold feet after coming this far.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped up onto the living platform that awaited her. She tried to be quick about it, knowing that taking too long would just give her more time to chicken out. 

Situating herself in the center of Camilla’s palm, she sat on her knees with her own much tinier hands resting on the soft yet firm surface. And once she was all settled, Sakura looked up at the older woman with what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

“Ready?” Camilla checked. She returned Sakura’s smile with one of her own, beaming at the small girl’s bravery. She knew how difficult it was for Sakura to do something like this, and she was grateful for how much effort the borrower was willing to put into helping her sister.

“Y-Yes,” Sakura affirmed. 

She braced herself again, though for a different reason this time. Her stomach dropped a little as Camilla’s hand started to move, slowly rising up and away from the bookshelf.

After that, Camilla brought her hand close, resting it against her chest for additional support, and trying to keep it as steady as possible.

It actually wasn’t that bad, Sakura had to admit. Especially when she didn’t have to fear for her life.

And then Camilla started walking. 

No matter how slow and careful the human was trying to be, each footstep shook Sakura right down to the core. Almost instinctively, she reached out and clung to Camilla’s thumb, wrapping her arms around it tightly. She bit back a soft whimper.

“Are you alright, dear?” Camilla asked, a touch of worry lacing her tone as she came to an immediate stop.

“I-I’m fine!” Sakura called up a bit meekly. “Y-You can keep going, I just, um… I’m n-not used to this.” After all, this was only her second time being held by a human. And of course, likewise for Camilla, this was only  _ her _ second time holding a borrower.

Needless to say, this was something both of them were going to have to work on getting used to.

Camilla then continued on, stepping out into the hallway. 

Unlike the bedroom, there weren’t any vantage points that were easy for a borrower to access out here, and before now, Sakura had never seen this part of the house from so high up. Nor had she been able to pass through it so quickly. 

What was normally such a simple and mundane task was like seeing a whole new world. 

Sakura was in awe. 

She always knew that humans could cover far more ground than they could, but to actually see it and experience it for herself was really eye-opening. She even started to loosen her grip on Camilla’s thumb as she leaned a tiny bit closer toward the edge, trying to take it all in before they reached Elise’s room.

Once they  _ did _ reach Elise’s room, Camilla wasted no time opening the door and slipping inside. 

The space was dimly lit, with just a nightlight by the doorway bathing everything in a faint pink glow. Even though it was morning, and probably  _ late _ morning by now, the curtains were drawn, permitting only a thin line of sunlight to stream in.

“Elise…?” Camilla called out softly as she shut the door behind her. 

She and Sakura both waited, but no answer came.

“I-Is she sleeping?” Sakura wondered.

“Seems like it,” the lavender-haired woman noted, walking over to her little sister’s bedside. She lowered her hand down onto the nightstand, allowing Sakura to climb off on her own. A part of her was definitely grateful to be back on solid ground, even if being carried wasn’t  _ that  _ terrible. 

Sure enough, the youngest human was fast asleep, practically buried under her covers. Sakura couldn’t say she was disappointed by that. Quite the opposite, in fact. It was a relief to know that she wouldn't  _ actually _ have to reveal herself to any of the other humans. 

But then she realized that Elise had several extra blankets piled onto her bed, despite the pleasant warmth of the room. That seemed way too smothering to be comfortable, but Elise looked pretty content.

“Her fever was pretty high, but she kept saying that she was too cold,” Camilla explained as she noticed where Sakura’s eyes were drawn. “And she’s always so energetic first thing in the morning. It’s not like her to sleep in this late…” 

“A-And you said she was f-fine yesterday?” Sakura double-checked.

Camilla nodded.

Going over those few symptoms in her head, and knowing how suddenly they had come, Sakura was pretty sure that she had a good idea about what was happening.

“I-I’ve seen something like this before. With m-my brother,” the young borrower explained. “There’s a flower that can help ease the symptoms w-when you brew it into tea. S-Some of it actually grows in th-the garden. I-I don’t know if it would be the same for Elise, but… he got better a few days after that.”

“Oh! That’s wonderful news,” Camilla noted, looking visibly relieved. 

“The… The only problem is that I-I don’t really know what the dosage would be for a human.” 

“That’s alright, dear. If you know what it’s called, I can ask Leo to look into it. He’s bound to have at least one book with the information we need,” Camilla pointed out optimistically.

“O-Oh. Right. It’s called, um, f-feverfew,” Sakura informed her. 

The lavender-haired human smiled a little at that. “Feverfew, hm? What a fitting name… Will you be alright staying here with Elise for just a little while?”

“W-While you talk to Leo? Y-Yes, that’s fine,” the younger girl stated with a nod. Elise was sound asleep after all, and if would be easier for both of them if Sakura stayed behind and waited there. 

“Okay. I’ll be right back. Keep an eye on her for me, alright?” Camilla affirmed, only being slightly serious. 

Sakura nodded, and even faintly smiled at Camilla’s attempt at humor. 

After that, the older woman quietly slipped out into the hallway, closing the door behind her once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok ok ok  
> so  
> I've been sitting on this poor thing for, like, at least a year now, and let me just say;  
> I am thiiiiiis close to finishing it. Like, maybe a paragraph or two away. It's very frustrating x'D
> 
> However, instead of being mostly dead on here and waiting until I've actually finished the whole thing, I decided to post the first half now, with the hope that I should be able to have the rest posted in the next few days or so.  
> Hopefully. :')


	2. Chapter 2

There wasn’t much for Sakura to do while she waited.

Even if she’d been tasked with looking after Elise, it wasn’t as if she could _actually_ do anything helpful on her own.

Sitting down on the nightstand, she absentmindedly fiddled with the hem of her dress, occasionally stealing a glance toward the sleeping blonde, but mostly just getting lost in her own thoughts.

Thoughts like how her siblings were probably well aware of the fact that she was gone by now. They might even be pretty worried, considering Ryoma’s explicit warning about going out today.

Gods, if only they knew what she was _really_ doing right now. ‘Worry’ would be the biggest understatement of her life. She could almost vividly imagine their shocked reactions if they ever found out the truth.

“Mmm…?”

A soft and groggy muttering snapped Sakura’s attention back to the present, and her eyes darted to the movement coming from the bed.

Elise was stirring, starting to wake up.

Sakura’s first instinct _would have_ been to get to her feet and hide as soon as possible, but there were two problems with that plan.

The first and most obvious problem was that there wasn’t exactly anywhere on the nightstand for her to hide, just a half-empty glass of water. The second problem was that her own movement would probably only serve to draw Elise’s attention to her.

So, instead, Sakura went completely still, silently praying that the human would just go back to sleep.

Unfortunately, she didn’t.

Elise rolled over onto her side, now facing Sakura’s direction as her eyes slowly fluttered open. A complete coincidence, though Sakura couldn’t help but curse her own bad luck.

Well, maybe she could still get lucky, since Elise might be a little out of it from her sickness. Plus the lighting in the room was pretty poor, so—

 

“H… Huh?” Elise murmured, blinking in confusion as her lilac eyes found their way to the tiny doll-like form sitting on her nightstand.

A doll that definitely wasn’t one of her own, because she knew each of those well. One of her older siblings might have easily mistaken it for hers, though.

And this one looked so incredibly life-like, Elise was almost sure that it had to be a trick of the dim lighting.

She rubbed her eyes a little, trying to see if anything might change, but instead she could’ve sworn she saw the ‘doll’ blink back at her.

With mounting curiosity, she slowly reached her hand out toward the nightstand. She didn’t intend to pick it up or grab it, just a light touch. And as her hand drew closer, she was sure that she caught another glimpse of movement, as if that small form was bracing itself for the contact.

And right when her fingertips gingerly brushed against one of those miniscule arms, her breath caught in her throat.

_Warm._

_Alive._

_Definitely not a doll._

This was a living, breathing person. A living, breathing person that was only about four inches tall.

Slowly, Elise pulled her hand back and moved to prop herself up on her elbow. Almost a million questions entered her mind at that moment, but she could only manage to get one word out. Well, hardly even a word at all, really.

_“Oh.”_

 

With her cover blown, Sakura didn’t bother trying to keep still anymore. She started scooting backwards, toward the other side of the nightstand, as she tried to put some distance between herself and Elise.

Not that it really mattered.

The action was more for a source of comfort than anything else.

She was pretty much stranded on the nightstand, after all. Elise’s bedclothes didn’t reach the floor, or even come close, and there wasn’t anything else Sakura could use to climb down.

“W-Wait, don’t go,” the young blonde insisted, her voice barely louder than a whisper. “I won’t hurt you, I promise! Sorry I touched you like that, I didn’t know you were a person.”

Her words came out quick and excited, almost too fast for Sakura to follow. Considering she’d just woken up a few moments ago, and she wasn’t feeling well on top of that, it was almost impressive.

“Oh my gosh, you’re so small…” Elise went on, slowing down a little as she was slightly overcome by awe. “You’re not a fairy, are you? What’s your name? I’m Elise!”

Yep, Sakura _never_ would have expected her to talk so much.

“M-My n-name is, um… S-Sakura,” the pink-haired borrower stammered.

She’d always considered Elise to be the least frightening of the four humans, and she’d already been exposed to Camilla for a few weeks by now, so it wasn’t really that much of a surprise when she found that talking to Elise for the first time was much easier.

“That’s such a pretty name! It’s nice to meet you, Sakura,” the youngest human stated happily.

“It… It’s n-nice to meet you, too. Um, y-you should p-probably be, um, resting, though, r-right?” Sakura pointed out a bit hesitantly, worried that she might upset Elise when she brought that up.

“Oh. Yeah, you’re right,” Elise agreed with a sheepish smile.

She then laid her head back down on the pillow, but her gaze remained focused on Sakura. She clearly didn’t have any intentions of going back to sleep anytime soon.

“Sorry, seeing you was just really surprising,” the young blonde apologized again, though the smile on her face was still plain as day.

“I-I can imagine,” Sakura noted, a faint smile tracing her own lips. Elise’s eagerness was certainly contagious.

“Sooo… _are_ you a fairy?” Elise asked again.

Sakura almost wanted to giggle at that. “N-No, I’m… I’m a borrower.”

“Oh,” Elise stated simply, as if she understood what that meant, even though Sakura knew that she was likely confused by that answer. “…What’s a borrower?”

Just as the tiny girl was about to answer _that_ question, a voice from out in the hallway interrupted her.

“Leo, don’t you know you’re supposed to knock before entering a lady’s room?” Camilla chided playfully. “I know we’ve taught you better than that.”

“Camilla, she’s my sister. I don’t see why I have to bother. Besides, you said she was sleeping, right?” A younger, male voice complained.

They went on talking more, but Sakura didn’t bother listening to the rest.

“I-I have to—I c-can’t let Leo see me,” she told Elise, quickly getting up onto her feet.

“Huh? Why not?” Elise wondered, moving to sit up once more.

“P-Please, Elise, I d-don’t have time to explain.”

“O-Okay.  Um, sorry about this,” the young blonde apologized in advance as she leaned forward and swiftly scooped Sakura up with one hand. It caught the pink-haired borrower off-guard, but she didn’t struggle against the sudden grasp she found herself in.

In the next moment, Elise laid back down with Sakura cupped against her chest, and she used her free hand to pull one of her blankets up to her neck; the best hiding spot she could think of on such short notice.

It was extremely warm—almost overwhelmingly so—but Sakura couldn’t complain.

Because not a second later, Elise’s bedroom door opened as both Leo and Camilla stepped inside.

 

Camilla tried not to panic when she didn’t see Sakura sitting on Elise’s nightstand. She tried even harder not to panic when she saw that Elise was now wide awake, watching her and Leo as they entered the room.

Outwardly, she looked completely calm and unfazed.

She wasn’t sure how long she could keep that up, though.

“Hey. How’re you feeling?” Leo asked Elise. He kept his voice down, and there was a touch of concern in his tone instead of the usual aloofness.

“F-Fine,” the young blonde stammered. “Still tired,” she added just a bit too quickly. “I don’t feel any worse, though, so that’s good.”

“That _is_ good,” Camilla agreed. At least that gave her a bit of relief. “We’ve got some good news, too. Don’t we, Leo?”

“Yeah, something like that… Camilla found out about this herb that’ll help make you feel better,” he explained to his younger sister. “And it turns out we’ve got plenty of it growing out in the garden.”

“Really? How’d you find out about that, Camilla?” Elise wondered, her tone brimming with genuine curiosity.

The lavender-haired young woman donned a warm smile. “Oh, a friend told me, that’s all.”

“I looked it up, and it checks out,” Leo added. “Just wanted to make sure you were doing alright before we tried anything.”

“Well, I am fine, so thank you!”

Something about Elise’s tone sounded a little bit off when she said that—at least, it did to Camilla. Perhaps that was just her worry getting the better of her, though.

“Here, Leo, why don’t you let Xander know what’s going on, and I’ll go out into the garden to start gathering some of those herbs?” she suggested.

“Yeah, alright. I’ll get some hot water going on the stove, too,” he agreed without issue, already making his way back over to the door not a moment later. Even as he exited and closed it behind him, Camilla lingered by Elise’s bedside for just a little bit longer.

Which was good, considering what happened next.

The faint sound of a soft, muffled voice just barely managed to reach Camilla’s ears, and it almost seemed like it was coming from… Elise?

“Huh? Oh, okay,” the young blonde stated somewhat softly. Moving rather slow, she then started to sit up. The blanket that had been covering her fell away as she did so, revealing a familiar small form cradled in Elise’s hand.

The relief Camilla felt upon seeing Sakura—safe and unharmed—was practically tangible.

“S-Sorry if I w-worried you, Camilla,” the borrower apologized, speaking up a little so that she could actually be heard by the eldest sister this time around.

“Oh no, dear, you’re alright. There’s no need to apologize,” Camilla assured her, taking a seat on the edge of Elise’s bed. “So… You two have met each other then, I take it?” she wondered, mostly speaking to her younger sibling.

“Yeah!” Elise responded enthusiastically, although she still kept her voice rather soft for Sakura’s sake. “How did _you two_ meet?”

There was only genuine curiosity in her tone—not a single hint of suspicion or hostility.

 

As Camilla recounted the tale of how she’d met Sakura, the borrower in question found herself getting rather… fidgety, considering the fact that Elise was still holding her close.

It wasn’t terribly unpleasant, per se, but Elise’s fever meant that her hands were much warmer than Camilla’s, and the young blonde had already been holding Sakura for quite a while.

Not to mention… Well, Sakura still wasn’t used to being held in the first place.

She didn’t want to be rude and interrupt Camilla, though. So, for the time being, she simply just waited and forced herself to put up with it for a little while longer. Thankfully, it wasn’t as if the older human had a lot to say, and she finished speaking in hardly any time at all.

“…And now we’ve been meeting with each other just about every day, since then,” Camilla concluded.

“That’s so cool!” Elise replied, sounding quite awestruck. “Do you think we could be friends, too, Sakura?” she added, turning her gaze down toward the smaller girl and donning a hopeful smile.

In spite of her very mild discomfort, the young borrower couldn’t help but return Elise’s smile with one of her own.

“I-I would like that v-very much, Elise. B-But, um… W-Would you… Can you please, um, p-put me down now?”

“Huh? Oh! Sure!” the young blonde readily complied, starting to move so that she could set Sakura right back down on her nightstand.

However, before she could actually do that, Camilla spoke up and interrupted her.

“Actually, Sakura… You should probably be getting back to your family soon, right? Do you want me to take you to my room?”

“O-Oh, no, I… w-well, I _should,_ but I-I can get back from here,” the young borrower noted rather sheepishly. “I-I’ll just need some help getting down to the floor, if… if that’s alright?”

“Of course, dear. That’s no trouble at all,” Camilla replied, donning a warm smile. She then held out her hand in a way that would allow Sakura to simply walk onto it from Elise’s hand. And once Sakura was all situated, it took hardly any time at all for Camilla to set her down gently on the floor.

The hidden passageway for Elise’s room was actually located under the bed, and as such, that was where Sakura was intending to go. Not without waving goodbye to Elise and Camilla first, though.

“Bye Sakura! It was nice meeting you! Maybe you and I could hang out sometime, once I’m not sick anymore?”

“S-Sure! I… I would love that.”

In spite of her stuttering, Sakura meant that with utmost sincerity.

Having the chance to get to know Elise more was definitely something that she would be looking forward to.


End file.
